Religion Briefing May 18, 2013

New Hope Presbyterian celebrates anniversaryNew Hope Presbyterian Church in Biggersville will celebrate its 175th anniversary on May 25 and 26.
On the 25th, the church will host a cemetery walk at 5 P.M., in which a few members will dress up in costume and assume the persona of some of the the church’s historical members.
Following the walk, attendees will be treated to a 19th century gospel concert by a group specializing in music from that period.
On the 26th, New Hope will hold their regular service at 10:45 A.M., complete with bagpipe music to celebrate the church’s Scottish heritage. The festivities will conclude with a luncheon after the service.

Westboro Baptist Church pickets Ole MissThe Westboro Baptist Church will picket on the Ole Miss Campus today from 8 to 8:30 A.M.
According to the group’s website, the demonstration will protest football as a false idol, as evidenced by the 2006 film “The Blind Side.”
The unaffiliated Baptist church gained national attention in 2005 and 2006 for picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, celebrating their deaths as the work of God and his judgement on America.
Since then, they have gained infamy for statements against everyone from Jews to heavy metal singers, catching the eye of organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Kansas-based church picketed Graceland earlier this month, and is scheduled to picket the University of Alabama later in the day for reasons that are unclear via their website.

Tebow knows ‘who holds future’Less than two weeks after the New York Jets released him, quarterback Tim Tebow told a crowd of about 3,000 at a Michigan college his main goal is to impact lives, whether on or off the field. Tebow took no questions from the press at the May 9 event, but conversed with a moderator about his competitive nature, faith, his family, and his football career.
He shed no light on his future in the sport, but repeated one of his favorite sayings: “I don’t know what the future holds but at the end of the day I know who holds my future.”
The event followed a Forbes.com survey released in early May named Tebow as America’s most influential athlete. Despite the controversy surrounding his public faith, Tebow, with 29 percent of the vote, finished ahead of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, and Jamaican track star Usain Bolt.